Byron Bay

The beauty of living in Brisbane is that it's situated smack dab in the middle of the best part of Australia.  There is more to do within an hour or two than most people can get to in a lifetime.  We, as temporary residents, plan to cram in as much sight-seeing experiences as we possibly can, which means at least every other weekend we will be heading out of town to see something new.

A few weekends ago we headed to the best spot we've been to yet - Bohemia at it's finest - Byron Bay.  Just on the other side of the Queensland / New South Wales border lies this jewel of a beach town in all its laid back glory.  The town center is bumpin' with hip cafes, shops and pubs and not even a block's walk away is a drop dead gorgeous beach...and it's not the only one!  There are several separate beaches that are part of this area, including this one that we stopped at to play in the sand and have a picnic lunch.

It was still a little chilly on the water, but the kids loved running with the waves. We climbed on the rocks, picked up seashells watched the surfers, and got our toes nice and sandy.

After our time on the beach, we took a "beach-to-bush walk" to check out the surfers riding the Julian Rocks and Cape Byron breaks.  The cape is a special point on the Australia coast (the Easterly most point of the country) where the Coral Sea meets the Tasman Sea.  What this means is that it produces some of the most fantastic and varied sea life in all of Australia.  It is said that over 500 species have been identified there. It's a great place to dive and apparently a great place to surf. Even the dolphins were enjoying the waves while we were there.  Two pods were playing and clearly waiting for the best waves, which they rode along with the surfers.  It was so much fun to watch.

Notice the next series of shots...I'm trying to capture a picture of Cory with Marin and Hallie both looking at the camera.  Obviously in the first two shots Hallie doesn't want to look at me (should have been our first clue), but notice where the water is around the rock in the second photo.

Then look at the water in the next photo.  Classic.  The wave came in and drenched all three of them while mom was trying to have ~sigh~ yet another kodak moment.  Wish I had that part on camera!

Once Cory and the girls dried off a little and we took inventory of wallet, iphone, camera, etc. we continued walking towards the cape.  It was breathtaking looking up and down the Queensland and New South Wales coastlines.

We also went up to visit the famous lighthouse before we headed out of town.

By the time we were finished with all of the above, it was getting late and no-napped kiddos were down for the count.  So, we didn't get to spend any time in the little town that is Byron Bay...and I long to go back and see what all the little shops and cafes are about.  Ah, another adventure in our future.